Online voters picks for next 5x5 Night competition announced

GRAND RAPIDS — A zipline over the Grand River. A cocktail protector. An expansion of a camp for stuttering kids. An online local fashion magazine. And a series of low-cost culinary and artisan classes.

Enough online voters liked each of those ideas to propel their respective generators onto the presentation seat for the monthly 5x5 Night competition next week.

Interestingly enough, only two of the five that received enough votes to go before the judges for a shot at the $5,000 seed money were in the top five ‘most viewed’ ideas. In fact, the local deal-of-the-day idea that received 3,155 views, the most, did not make the cut.

The five people that will make their pitch on Tuesday are a diverse group of West Michigan locals and a recent transplant.

Jarl Brey, 49, wants to run a zipline across the Grand River somewhere near the north side of downtown. The local sales manager for Ricoh Co. said the Zip The Grand idea came to him while sitting by the river watching the sunset.

“I see it as a way to draw people to downtown,” he said. “There’s nothing like this in the state.”

Julie Raynor is speech pathologist at Reeths-Puffer schools in Muskegon who wants to fund program expansion and outreach for kids at Camp Shout Out, a camp for youths who stutter located in Holton.

Raynor’s daughter woke up one day with a sudden stuttering problem in 2007 and they had to go to Chicago to find a specialist. She said lots of parents in the same situation cant find help because many speech therapists still don’t specialize in stuttering.

“It seems to be one of the last things people think its OK to mock,” she said.

Jerrad Matthew, 29, is a 2000 East Kentwood graduate who runs The Matthew Agency in Grand Rapids. Matthew wants to start Rag Trade GR as an online magazine that would be a one-stop source for info and connections to the local fashion community. He sees it as a way to promote local shopping and incubate local designers.

“We have a ton of talent here in Grand Rapids,” he said. “But there’s nothing keeping them here.”

Silver Spork Food Truck owner Molly Clauhs, 23, wants to start a series of monthly low cost urban homesteading classes for the home chef to learn culinary and gardening skills.

“I just love self-sufficiency and being able to make things yourself, whether it’s food or clothes,” she said. The idea is modeled after her mother and grandmother’s Cooking Cottage school started 20 years ago in Bucks County, Pa., where she’s originally from.

Last but not least, Matt Davidson, 34, a machine operator at Kent Communications Inc., wants to make bar drinks safe for people to step away from with The Barcard, which has already been debuted in some downtown and Cascade Township establishments.

“I call it the ‘triple threat,” said Davidson. The cardboard card, which would sport advertisements, sits atop cocktails and beer glasses to make staff aware the drink still has an owner, whilst also protecting the liquid from unwelcome intrusions.

These five ideas will be presented at the Grand Rapid Art Museum on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 5:30 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door. The winner will be announced at Reserve Wine Bar following the event.